Leisure travelers wary of terrorism, the activities in Iraq and now SARS are waiting until the last minute to book their vacations -- at least 40% of the summer leisure business is still up for grabs. And Florida destinations are scrambling to get it.
The Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, for instance, launched its most aggressive summer advertising campaign ever, spending $8 million this spring to target major cities in the Northeast, the Midwest and the South. Every 1% drop in out-of-state vacationers costs the area $68.2 million, says José Estorino, the bureau's senior vice president of marketing.
Resorts are getting into the act, too. Walt Disney World and The Breakers in Palm Beach broke their own traditions by offering summer discounts for travelers who stay longer than a few days.
The competition is fierce and could hit mid-priced hotels hardest. A national study by Priceline.com showed almost 40% of all hotel requests this spring were for luxury hotels, compared with 32% a year ago. Industry watchers say vacationers who normally opt for mid-range travel are trading up to take advantage of discounts, while those who might have considered canceling their vacations for economic reasons are booking lower-priced travel instead.
Around the Industry
Top Destinations
The Travel Industry Association of America says 35% of the respondents to a national survey would like to vacation in Florida this summer, putting the Sunshine State at the top of the list with California. ... Orlando is the second-most-popular destination this summer for vacationers seeking bargains online, topped only by Las Vegas, according to discounter Hotels.com. Rounding out the list: New York; New Orleans; San Francisco; Chicago; London; Honolulu; Reno, Nev.; and Paris.
Riding Out the Storm
Cruise industry price cuts and uneasiness about overseas travel might be helping to keep Florida's port communities afloat. A study in the Tampa Bay area shows the number of passengers at the port is up 16% over last year. ... To encourage more bookings on its trips from Fort Lauderdale to the Bahamas, Discovery Cruise Line is giving a discount rate to groups of 15 or more instead of 30, saying tours are traveling in smaller clusters these days.
Up in the Air
After massive financial shake-ups in the airline industry in the past couple of years, Florida is seeing a slew of new services and routes designed to help bring in foreign and domestic travelers. Among the changes:
Delta Air Lines subsidiary Song, a low-fare carrier that opened this spring, now flies nonstop several times daily from New York's JFK International to Florida's major airports.
At Orlando International Airport: Chautauqua Airlines, also affiliated with Delta, offers nonstop flights to Greenville/ Spartanburg, S.C. ... Condor's Thomas Cook Airlines, based in Germany, flies nonstop twice a week to Frankfurt. ... Alaska Airlines has started a nonstop service seven times a week to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. ... Virgin Atlantic has restarted its six weekly flights to Manchester, England, and is adding two more weekly flights to London Gatwick.
At Orlando Sanford International Airport: Travel City Direct offers eight flights a week this summer to Gatwick, Manchester and Glasgow using a Boeing 747 charter operated by European Aviation. ... Air 2000, the U.K.'s fourth-largest leisure airline, has signed on to continue using the airport as its "Florida gateway" for flights from London, Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow. ... TransMeridian Airlines is operating almost-daily nonstop flights from Syracuse, N.Y., and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
British Airways has cut its prices as much as 60% from its home base to several U.S. destinations, including Miami and Tampa.
Business Travel
Like other states, Florida has watched business travel levels stagnate since Sept. 11, 2001. More than 50% of Fortune 1000 business managers surveyed this spring in a national poll by Citigroup Smith Barney said they expect the cutbacks to be permanent and that their companies are using teleconferencing and videoconferencing more often instead.
People in the News
Daniel B. Brown is taking over as general manager at Busch Gardens, replacing Robin Carson. Brown had been executive vice president at the Tampa theme park. Carson will oversee marketing for St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch's nine theme parks, including Busch Gardens.
Staying Competitive
conomy and mid-priced hotels are experimenting with new ways to compete for business travelers. Motel 6 has opened a prototype in Orlando that features interior hallway room entrances, card-key door access, dataports for laptop computers and larger bathrooms. But rooms are still priced at less than $50 a night. Its sister Accor-owned chain, Red Roof Inns, is upgrading its Washington, D.C., hotels with new decor in the lobbies and guest rooms. Best Western, meanwhile, is offering a prepaid card originally aimed at leisure travelers that businesses are using to streamline their travel budgets and cut back on the paperwork of expense reports.
New and Improved
Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Destin celebrates its 30th anniversary this year with a major renovation that includes the just-opened Baytowne Conference Center and new accommodations at The Grand Sandestin in August. ... Walt Disney World's Pop Century Resort, a tribute to 20th-century pop culture, is set to open in December.
Contracts and Awards
YMCA USA will hold two national swimming championships at Fort Lauderdale's Hall of Fame Aquatic Complex next April for a combined economic impact of more than $5 million. It's the area's 26th year hosting one event and fifth year hosting the other. ... Loews Hotels, a luxury resort chain with three properties in Orlando and one in Miami Beach, has been named Best Hotel Chain for Families by Child magazine. ... Two Florida hotels are among nine recognized nationwide by the Hilton chain for outstanding performance in 2002: The University of Florida Hotel & Conference Center in Gainesville and the Hilton in the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando.
Cleanest Beaches
The Florida Panhandle has more names than any other area of the country on a recently released list of the nation's cleanest beaches. The nonprofit Clean Beaches Council named 40 Florida shorelines among the 50 nationally that met 56 qualifications for cleanliness. Nearly half of those in Florida were in the northwest.
What's Hot
Cheap is chic when it comes to travel, Orlando-based industry consultant Peter Yesawich told an audience in Arizona. Citing a poll his agency took this spring, Yesawich said internet bargain hunting is up 10% this year to 65% for business travelers and 57% for vacationers.